8 rosé water all day

Every single morning without fail, I head to my local coffee shop to get a huge coffee. It’s my ritual, my habit, and an essential step in my day. So many of us have these rituals with what we eat and drink, but in particular with drinks, we often don’t think about how they affect our nutrition overall. I mean, think about your last glass of rosé: Drinks go down so quickly, no chewing required, so it’s sometimes an out-of-sight, out-of-mind situation.

Coffee, tea, smoothies, protein shakes, pop (soda for some of you), milk, juice, wine, beer, cocktails, and yes, water. The list of what we drink is long. And just like food, we’ve labeled certain drinks bad—like soft drinks—and others good—like green juice—but by now you know that I’m here to get to the heart of our preconceptions and misconceptions about beverages and explain exactly how what we drink impacts our nutrition. Even for those of you who don’t drink pop, your cold-pressed cleansing juices and smoothies may not be living up to their hype. They also may be taking your health journey in the wrong direction.

In this chapter, I’ll give you the lowdown on what fluids do in our bodies, how much we should drink, and what we should drink, and I’ll bust a few myths along the way.

WHY DO WE DRINK?

We drink because we’re thirsty, of course. Leave it to me to state the obvious! We drink water to rehydrate and protein shakes to refuel. We also drink for enjoyment, to relax, and to de-stress—in most of these instances I’m referring to alcohol.

But have you ever looked at the clock, noticed that it’s midafternoon, and realized that you haven’t had anything to drink since your morning coffee? Or worse, nothing at all? Sometimes we’re so caught up in choosing the right foods, we forget about fluids. I’m guilty of this! I often catch myself thinking, “I’ll just drink something in a bit,” but then, three hours later, I still haven’t!

Our bodies are 60 percent water, so hydration is key to making sure we’re healthy, energized, and focused. Here are some bodily functions that are affected by what we drink:

Now here are some things water doesn’t do:

As a rule, fluids clear the stomach a lot faster than solids. They’re also a lot easier to consume: I can suck up a milk shake in about 5.2 seconds. Especially if they have no fat or protein in them, most drinks go down so fast that they don’t trigger our fullness mechanism, leaving our bodies unaware that we’ve just consumed those calories. As a result, we tend to drink most fluids on top of what we eat. If you’re regularly consuming sugary or caloric drinks, those can definitely add up.

GUIDELINES FOR FLUID INTAKE

So, how much do we actually need to drink in a day? You’ve heard the age-old “eight glasses of water a day” thing. Spoiler alert, it’s not based in science.1 Although we do need fluids, as stated in the original eight-glasses-a-day recommendation from 1945, most of that comes from prepared foods. Many of us believe that we need to drink eight 8-oz. glasses of fluid a day when, in fact, we can get some of our fluids from the food we eat.

Soup, fruits, and vegetables are all rich in water. Even foods like gelatin and ice cream hydrate us. (Did I just blow your mind?) And unlike what I learned in nutrition school all those years ago, coffee does count as a hydrating fluid. YESSSS. That’s great news. My morning coffee counts for a quarter of my daily fluid intake, and all before 9 a.m.! Perfect.

The greater news is that we don’t need to count every single drop of fluid we consume. There are ways to determine whether you’re getting enough.

So, what’s your hydration status? On a break? Complicated? Try this simple test. Pinch the top of your hand. Does the skin spring back quickly? Or remain tented? If it’s the latter, you’re probably dehydrated. Another easy test is a little more personal—checking the color of your urine.2 If it’s dark yellow, you need to drink more; light yellow means you’re hydrated. If you’re dehydrated, you might also get a headache, have trouble concentrating, and be fatigued.3 If you’re thirsty, that’s a sign that you’re on your way to becoming dehydrated, so drink up.

Our bodies lose fluid in various ways.4,5 Urine accounts for the most losses at 1.0L–1.5L, or about three small bottles of water a day. I know, sometimes it seems like a lot more, especially during road trips. Sweating and—unbelievably—breathing account for losses between 650ml–850ml, or around 3 cups per person per day (just less than a large coffee). If you have a fever, this number gets even higher. Same if you’re in a really hot environment or you’re exercising strenuously. So, how much fluid we need depends on a few different things, including certain medications that may require you to drink more fluids.

For most people, I’d recommend consuming around 6 cups of fluid a day outside of your food. Let’s get into the different types of fluids and their ranking from best to… not great.

I know you’re thinking that because I’m a dietitian, I’m going to recommend you drink water and only water. That’s partially correct because I do think water is the best—and cheapest—drink. But nobody drinks water all the time, because COFFEE. So let’s take a look at water and your other options to see how they stack up, nutrition-wise.

WATER

I just told you that water is the best option, but what type of water? There’s a ton of different kinds: tap water, filtered water, alkaline water, flavored water, and carbonated water, to name a few.

In most cities, plain old tap water is fine. There are some skeptics who believe that the fluoride in tap water is harmful to our health, but this is completely untrue—at least in the quantities that are present in our water. It’s the dose that matters. Fluoride is poisonous in large amounts, but so is water, if you drink too much of it. Too much water causes hyponatremia, which is the dilution of the sodium in our blood. Electrolytes like sodium and potassium help keep our heart rate stable, so messing with that can be fatal. Most people don’t reach this point, though. It’s fairly tough to achieve except in exceptional cases. So while there’s always someone on the internet saying that what we’re eating and drinking is toxic, try not to buy into these sorts of conspiracy theories. And consider this: With tap water, unlike bottled water, you can fill and refill your own water bottle, eliminating unnecessary plastic waste.

Flavored and carbonated waters, if they’re unsweetened, are also great options, especially if you’re one of those people who hates the taste—or nontaste, that is—of water. Something with a little flavor or a little fizz can help you overcome that barrier.

One myth that refuses to die (and really should) is the one that says that alkaline water, which has a higher pH than normal water, is more hydrating and all-around better for us. This is complete and utter garbage, but it’s a myth that the pseudoscientific acid-alkaline theory and its followers fully support.

First, alkaline water is expensive. (I smell a shifty marketing tactic.) Second, and most importantly, there isn’t any evidence that it’s superior to plain water.

The acid-alkaline theory dictates that what we eat can directly affect the pH of our blood and tissues, which can in turn, affect our health. The pH scale goes from 0, which is very, very acidic, to 14, which is what we call basic. The normal pH of our body is 7.4. Proponents of the acid-alkaline theory take the correct physiological process—that our body metabolizes all food into ash that’s either acid or alkaline—and twist it to say that foods that break down into acid ash can cause diseases like cancer and conditions such as osteoporosis. This is untrue, and a perfect example of how perfectly legitimate science can be warped to suit an agenda.

Acid-alkaline believers try to avoid acid foods such as meat, grains, and dairy, along with some nuts and legumes. Many preach that dairy is harmful because it’s an acidic food that degrades our bones, which is an assertion you may have heard but has no scientific evidence to support it. Instead, they support a diet of alkaline foods, which includes most vegetables and fruits. Fats are considered neutral.

If the acid-alkaline hypothesis were true, and we were able to control the pH of our blood and tissues with our diet, we’d die from eating pretty much anything, but thankfully, it’s all a sham. No matter what we eat, the pH level of our body stays at 7.4 for healthy people because it’s tightly regulated by our lungs, kidneys, and buffer system. So when we eat an acid food like dairy, meat, or nuts, our kidneys kick that extra acid out into the urine. That’s all in a day’s work for them, and it’s all good. Our breathing and our body’s bicarbonate buffer system take care of our pH, too. It’s a beautifully orchestrated process, and if anything goes out of whack, you’ll need a hospital, not an alkaline diet.

My issue with the acid-alkaline diet, besides the fact that it makes a complete mockery of basic physiology, is that many of the acid foods are actually nourishing. The alkaline foods are nourishing as well, but there is nothing harmful about the acid foods, especially when eaten as part of a varied diet. Eating a diet that contains acidic foods doesn’t result in diseases and ill health. But many people don’t know any better, and diets like these scare them into avoiding foods unnecessarily. This is not only inconvenient, but emotionally and physically unhealthy.

So now that we’ve covered that whole dumpster fire of a myth, let’s go back to alkaline water, which is useless for anything besides hydration. If you want to spend the absurd amount of money to buy it for that purpose, be my guest, but don’t fall for the claim that it’s better for you.

COFFEE

Oh, coffee. I can’t start my day without one. And I can’t tell you how many people come to see me and admit that they drink coffee with a guilty look on their face. As if coffee is unhealthy or something! It’s totally not.

We used to think that the caffeine in coffee made it a diuretic, a substance that causes increased urination, and subsequently, that drinking it was dehydrating rather than hydrating. Science has since revealed that this isn’t the case, so coffee counts toward your daily fluid intake.

According to Health Canada and health authorities in the United States, the average amount of caffeine we should consume each day is under 400 mg per day.6 (Slice that number in half if you’re pregnant or nursing.) While the amount of caffeine in coffee is determined by the bean roasting process—light roast coffees are higher in caffeine—the average 8-oz. cup of coffee contains around 95 mg of caffeine.7

Caffeine, in appropriate doses, can help you concentrate and enhance athletic performance. I used to take caffeinated gels during marathons, and I’d never run a race without having a cup of coffee first. Coffee also has antioxidants that may contribute to our health.8

Of course, consuming too much caffeine can cause jitteriness, headaches, insomnia, and anxiety, and if you have cardiovascular issues, you should watch your intake.9 We’re all different in terms of our tolerance of caffeine, and the more caffeine you consume, the higher your tolerance gets. If you find yourself feeling like crap or like you need to be peeled off the ceiling after that second cup of coffee, try tea… or water.

It’s not only about the caffeine, it’s about what you put into your coffee. I’m not going to say that you should be drinking your coffee black, but if you’re a fan of syrupy, creamy coffee drinks, it’s best to limit them and treat them like a dessert. That said, I’ve been known to recommend lattes to clients for snacks! A medium latte contains 16 grams of protein, 190 calories, 150 mg of caffeine, and 7 grams of fat. The protein and fat in the drink will help with satiety, and the milk is a source of calcium.

myth buster:

caffeine burns fat.

There are a ton of caffeine products on the market that promise to burn fat by increasing your metabolism. The sources of caffeine in these products vary—some contain straight caffeine while others are from “natural” sources like green coffee bean, yerba maté, guarana, and camellia.

But this claim isn’t supported by research. While caffeine can cause our metabolic rate to rise, this is only temporary, and the resulting calorie burn isn’t significant enough to cause weight loss. The same goes for other “fat-burning foods” such as chili peppers and freezing-cold water. These have a short, transient effect on our metabolism, but no appreciable weight loss results. No foods burn fat.

TEA

Tea is a good alternative to water for hydration. And herbal teas, such as peppermint and hibiscus, and black teas are a low- or no-caffeine alternative to coffee, if that’s what you’re looking for.

Tea is sort of having a moment right now, but be careful about some of the health claims. The wellness industry has co-opted it as the latest cure-all, and the promises are a little over-the-top. Some of the usual tea suspects and their “benefits” are:

The thing to remember about these teas is that the dosage of whatever active ingredient you’re getting may not be sufficient to yield any benefits. The active ingredients also haven’t been studied that much. Adaptogens like holy basil, reishi, and even turmeric are really popular, but the claims made about their effect on immunity, stress adaptation, and overall health are far ahead of the actual science.

I have to make a special shout-out to detox teas, otherwise known as teatoxes. Most of these are herbal diuretics and laxatives that hide behind “natural” ingredients. Trust me when I tell you that natural and herbal laxatives will give you the same cramping and diarrhea as their nonnatural counterparts. These products can cause serious dehydration, heart arrhythmias, and other side effects. Plus, any weight you lose from them will be water and poo, which of course will come back as soon as you eat or drink anything. Most importantly, if you pee and poo, and have a liver and two kidneys, there’s no reason to detox anything. It’s all taken care of by your body. Isn’t nature wonderful? Save your money.

myth buster:

drinking fluid with meals dilutes stomach acid and impairs digestion.

I guarantee you’ve heard this one before. The pH of our gastric environment is usually around 3, which is highly acidic. This is completely normal. If our stomach wasn’t acidic, we wouldn’t be able to break food down properly. And that’s exactly what the people who buy into this myth believe: that fluids should only be consumed before or after meals to avoid weakening stomach acid.

This myth flies in the face of basic physiology. The acidity of our stomach contents is controlled by parietal cells, which are special cells in our gut that maintain a healthy pH balance. When they sense the pH of the stomach is becoming less acidic (which isn’t great for digestion), they secrete hydrochloric acid to balance things out. So, drink as much as you want while you eat, and don’t listen to people who spout this sort of nonsense.

Also: if this myth was true, how would we digest soup?

SMOOTHIES AND PROTEIN SHAKES

As a rule, I don’t advise people to include smoothies or smoothie bowls—which are essentially spoonable smoothies with toppings—in their diet on a regular basis, especially if they’re the store-bought ones. Often made with frozen yogurt or a ton of fruit, these tend to be sugar bombs with a health halo. I hate to break it to you, but an acai bowl isn’t healthy. It’s like a one-pound bag of frozen fruit, pureed and served with pretty toppings. Yes, acai has fiber and antioxidants in it, which are good for you, but that doesn’t mean we should eat 3 cups of it topped with granola, peanut butter, and coconut, which is usually what happens because acai is low in sugar and generally tastes, well, like dirt. So stores blend it with other stuff like juice and sweeter fruit—a sugar explosion.

Even homemade smoothies can be devoid of protein and over-the-top with sugar and calories. A lot of people love their breakfast smoothies, but say they’re hungry two hours later. The most common reason is that the smoothies they’re making don’t have enough protein to keep them full. You might make a smoothie that contains almond milk, which has almost no protein, and a mixture of fruits, which are entirely carbs, and some peanut butter for protein. Another popular one is almond milk with fruit, spinach, and a couple tablespoons of hemp seeds or nuts. Even though these drinks do contain protein from the nuts, hemp hearts, or peanut butter, it’s nowhere near the 20–25 grams of protein I recommend at meals. To get there, you’d have to include around five to six tablespoons of peanut butter, six tablespoons of hemp hearts, or ¾ cup of almonds.10,11,12 Yikes. Each one of those things would send the calories through the roof… and can you imagine eating all that peanut butter? You’d have to jackhammer the smoothie off the roof of your mouth. Whole foods like nuts and seeds are packed with nutrition, but it is possible to eat too much of them.

One way to get more protein is to swap out the almond milk for Greek yogurt, but if you still find your smoothies don’t keep you full for long enough, then the smoothie, even with the protein it contains from the yogurt, may be leaving your stomach too quickly to keep you satiated. In other words, your body isn’t registering that you’re eating food because, well, technically, you’re not. Blending your food into a drink pulverizes the fibers that you’d otherwise be chewing, which contributes to the satiety of your meal. Although a smoothie will have more fiber than a juice, it’s still less than whole foods. It’s just a function of drinking, not chewing, your food. So, consider having the smoothie for a snack and eating something solid for breakfast instead.

If you love smoothies and smoothie bowls, there is a healthier way. For smoothies, try starting with a scoop of low-sugar protein powder, Greek yogurt, cow’s milk, or silken tofu for protein, then adding some greens and a small portion of fruit (no more than ¾ cup). Cacao nibs or a couple of tablespoons of nuts give a crunchy texture. For a healthier acai or smoothie bowl, try making your own by using Greek yogurt, an acai packet, some greens such as spinach, kale, or arugula, and lower-sugar toppings like plain coconut or nuts in a small bowl. Small being the operative word here: The acai and other smoothie bowls on Instagram are humongous and aren’t really a good representative of what constitutes a nourishing meal with a reasonable amount of sugar and protein. In fact, I’m pretty skeptical about whether the influencers who post them are actually eating them (and I’ve seen in real life that many of them don’t).

GREEN JUICE

Celery juice. That kale liquid that looks like sewage water. “Detox” greens. Most people drink these for the purported health benefits and cleansing properties. I’m sorry to tell you that despite what the companies selling them say, these green juices don’t detox or cleanse or reset your body, restore your metabolism, clean the fat from your life, and all the other ridiculous claims I’ve seen being made about these sorts of regimens. It’s all malarkey. And it goes back to the lie of diet culture that some foods are clean and some foods are dirty, that we aren’t good enough the way we are, and that there’s something wrong with our body, which can be solved if we submit to some sort of punishing detox.

Yes, green juices do contain water and vitamins, but drinking a glass of twelve-dollar sewage-water kale cleanse is not equivalent to eating solid vegetables. Drinking juice instead of eating food isn’t healthier because juicing produce takes the fiber out of the end product and delivers a drink that’s mostly water (and sugar, if you’re juicing fruits). I know what you’re thinking: “But, Abby, you want me to drink water!” I do, but it’s better to chew these foods so you feel satiated—you’ll still get the water and all the vitamins.

On top of that, green juices are super expensive, whether you’re buying them premade or buying the raw ingredients and doing it yourself. You’re better off saving your money and drinking water.

DIET AND SUGAR-FREE DRINKS

What happens when you take the sugar out of your fav drinks? Does it make them a great alternative to their sugary cousins? Well, yes and no.

Sweet foods and drinks—whether sugar-sweetened or artificially sweetened—when consumed throughout the day, blunt our taste for sweets. In other words, we get used to having everything sweetened, and then we expect it. Also, some sweeteners are several times sweeter than sugar, so we build up a tolerance to sweet things, especially ones that are less sweet, which can lead to wanting to sweeten everything we eat. If you feel as though you need to sweeten a lot of your food, or can’t drink something unless it’s sweet, teach your body to expect less sweet by cutting down the sweet you eat, slowly and consistently. For example, if you typically have two sugars in your coffee, try having just one. And if you’re drinking more than one diet soda or artificially sweetened drink a day, I’d recommend trying to cut down as much as you can.

Now, about those sweeteners. I hear a lot of shitty science being thrown around by people who believe that diet drinks are toxic garbage. Our consumption of artificial sweeteners has increased exponentially in the past few decades, but there is no evidence that sweeteners are making us fatter and sicker, which is what a lot of people on social media want you to believe.

Most studies on artificial sweeteners either have been done on animals or are population-based, giving us little usable information to prove that they’re unsafe. Sucralose has been linked to migraines, but as far as the connection between sweeteners and cancer, gut health, inflammation, obesity, diabetes, and anything else relevant to health, there is no solid evidence.

While eating a lot of artificial sweeteners increases our tolerance to sweet things, you’re not going to keel over from the occasional diet soda. So, choose whichever sweetener you prefer, but just use as little as possible. That way, you’ll get used to tasting whatever it is you’re eating or drinking, all the while weaning yourself off of overly sweet foods and drinks.

FRUIT JUICES

From the glass of freshly squeezed orange juice at breakfast to the cold-pressed exotic elixir at your gym juice bar, I feel the same way about fruit juice as I do about green juice: I’d rather you eat the whole fruit.

Fruit juices, even those without added sugar, are a concentrated source of natural sugar without any of the fiber from the fruit. Like green juices, fruit juices do contain some vitamins and they are hydrating. But for the calories they contain, I’d really rather you limit your consumption of them and chew your fruit instead.

Try choosing them less often or cut down by mixing the juice with carbonated water or tap water. The same goes for serving juice to kids—limit to ½ cup a day and cut it with water. Don’t let them suck on a juice-filled bottle every day as this can damage their teeth.

SUGAR-SWEETENED BEVERAGES

Grande iced mocha. Kombucha. Lemonade. Some of you love a can of Coke when you’re eating pizza or a pumpkin-spice latte when fall weather hits. And this isn’t a big deal. It goes back to one of the reasons we eat and drink: enjoyment.

The thing to keep in mind is that these beverages are generally loaded with sugar and not much else. Sure, a PSL has milk in it, but it’s also super sweet, and whether you’re trying to lose weight or simply want to eat a more healthful diet, the regular consumption of sugary drinks isn’t a great idea, so try to not make it a habit.

ALCOHOL

For many of us, alcohol is a part of our regular diet, whether it’s a glass of red wine with a nice steak dinner, a beer or two with chips as we watch sports, or a champagne toast to celebrate a special occasion. I’m not here to tell you that you can’t have that cocktail with your colleagues after work, but if you’re trying to lose weight or just improve your health, it’s important to look at your alcohol consumption.

The CDC’s guidelines for alcohol consumption are:13

The Canadian recommendations are a little more generous:14

And finally, a drink is equivalent to:

For reasons we’ll get into now, I think these guidelines are rather lenient. Here’s why.

Alcohol really has no nutritional value to speak of—it’s sort of tied with sugar-sweetened beverages in that regard. Sure, red wine has resveratrol, an antioxidant that purportedly extends life. But studies on that are small, short, and mostly based on actual resveratrol supplements, not on wine.15 Even if it was the case, you can get the same antioxidant from eating grapes, blueberries, pistachios, and peanuts, and those foods are far more nourishing and come with a lot less physical risk.

Not only does alcohol contain calories that are completely nonnutritive, it can make us eat more, too.16 Remember leptin, the hormone that curbs our appetite? Alcohol may inhibit its effects, and the effect of another hormone called GLP-1, causing us to feel hungry. It also lowers blood sugar, which again, makes us crave food—especially carbs. That’s why once you get home after a long night of partying, you’re probably going to snack on everything in sight. Or you’ll be snacking the entire next day. Been there, done that.

Think about it this way: Let’s say you drink an average of about eight drinks a week, which a lot of my clients do. Let’s say that these drinks are rather hefty pours of wine, also very common. This habit will contribute around 1,200 calories to your diet weekly. Remember, these are highly absorbable calories that don’t register as food and may cause you to eat more. In a month, those calories add up to just under 5,000. That’s the equivalent to a hell of a lot of solid, nourishing food, food that won’t make you feel like shit in the morning.

If you’re not concerned about losing weight, consider the effect of alcohol on your overall health. Because it’s a diuretic, alcohol dehydrates us, raising our heart rate, dropping our blood pressure, and making us fatigued, headachy, and dizzy. Alcohol is also an irritant that aggravates the stomach lining, making us feel nauseous, and it affects sleep, so we don’t drop into the REM stage, causing grogginess and problems with concentration.

Alcohol affects women differently than it does men.17 We get drunk faster and our livers are more susceptible to damage. A 2015 study in the BMJ showed that moderate alcohol consumption—more than one drink per day—may also increase risk for breast cancer.18 And according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, the rate of women who died from causes linked directly to alcohol—such as liver disease—has increased by 26 percent since 2001.

I don’t want to shame you for drinking, but rather present the research that’s out there so you can rethink the amount of alcohol you drink and consider how you might cut down on your intake. Sure, a glass or two of wine when you have dinner with friends is A-OK, but half a bottle of wine a night is overkill.

In general, alcohol is becoming a more accepted part of our culture—a reward after a hard day of work or parenting—and it’s sold with the subversive message that it will smooth the edges, give you a sense of belonging, and can be a part of a healthy life. There are even beer yoga classes, beer runs, and bars at some gyms. “Mommy’s juice” and other tongue-in-cheek phrases are common decorations for aprons, wineglasses, and memes. As with food, I want you to be aware of the effects of alcohol advertising and the reasons why you’re consuming the drinks you are.

If you drink socially and occasionally for enjoyment, that’s okay, but it’s different if you feel compelled to out of habit or custom. While we all have our vices, if you find yourself reaching for alcohol on a regular basis, I’d encourage you to be conscious of what purpose it’s serving you. Like we talked about earlier, it’s normal to have emotional-eating triggers and alcohol is something that’s often consumed out of emotion, especially to relieve stress. If you’re uncomfortable with the amount of alcohol you’re consuming, I’d encourage you to dig deeper into what’s behind your drinking as you did with the hunger and fullness scale.

Phew! Never in a million years did you think I’d have so much to say about fluids, right? Often they’re just something we take in, not what we think about… at least not as much as we think about food.

But when it comes to losing weight and being healthy, often making small modifications to what we drink can have a huge impact. In fact, it’s the number one change I ask my clients to make and it’s usually the easiest because many of us drink caloric beverages like pop, wine, and PSLs for enjoyment, not to fill our stomachs. For someone who drinks five cans of Coke a day, limiting their intake to one isn’t really the end of the world, but the impact it makes on their weight is, in most cases, huge.

And remember, no drink is off-limits, but hydration is the goal, and in most cases, water is the best candidate for the job. You don’t have to chug 64 oz. of it either. Coffee counts. So does ice cream.